The Southern Minny program is for youth baseball players in 3rd grade through 8th grade. The season includes 12-15 regular season games and an end of season weekend tournament where each team gets an additional 3 or more games.

Team Formation

Players are assigned to teams based on their current school. The registration form includes a field for requests for consideration when placing a player with a specific teammate. RYBA makes an effort to honor these requests, but there is no guarantee.

It occasionally occurs that players from the same school are put onto different teams. This can occur for a variety of reasons: too many players from a single school for a single team, no coach available from the pool of player parents from a given school, requests to be on a team with players from a different school. The most common reason players from the same school get placed onto different teams is coach availability. If you want to give your player the best chance to play with their classmates, consider volunteering to coach the team. When RYBA cannot find a coach for a group of players from a single school, that group is more likely to be split and assigned to teams where coaches have volunteered.

Season Dates and Times

Practice will start in mid-April, with games starting in late April or early May. Teams will meet twice per week. At the beginning of the season, each of the meetings will be for practice. Once games begin, 1 practice per week and 1 game per week are typically scheduled. Games will start at 6:00 PM. Practices will start at 6:00 unless your team’s coach works out an alternate time with the team.

Planned nights for practice or game by grade level are below. Game and practice nights for 6th, 7th, and 8th graders may change based on the number of players that register and how the leagues at these ages are formed.

3rd Grade - Tuesday and Thursday

4th Grade - Monday and Wednesday

5th Grade - Monday and Wednesday

6th Grade - Tuesday and Thursday

7th Grade - Tuesday and Thursday

8th Grade - Tuesday and Thursday if RYBA is able to form a Southern Minny league for 8th graders. The schedule will be determined by coaches of the teams if 8th graders play in the Zumbro Valley League (ZVL).

The end of season tournament will be the final 2 weekends in July. Each team will play in the end of season tournament. Each team will get a minimum of 3 games in the tournament. Tournament play will start on Friday afternoon and complete on Sunday.

Game Locations

Most games are played within the city of Rochester. There may be occasional travel to games in neighboring communities.

Scholarships

Scholarships are available for families that qualify for educational benefits for free and reduced-price school meals. Read more about the program and apply here: https://www.rochesterschools.org/page/application-for-benefits

Reach out to staff@rybamn.com with an approved application to receive scholarship benefits.

Registration Specifics

Players should register for the grade they are in during the 2024-2025 academic year. For example, if a player is in 4th grade during the 2024-2025 academic year, that player should register for 4th grade baseball.

A player has the option to play with the grade above them if they have an early birthday for their grade. Players are not required to play with the grade above them even if they have an early birthday for their grade. All players are allowed to play with their grade.

Use this age calculator and the grade-to-age list below to see if a player is eligible to play with a grade above them. https://www.usssa.com/baseball/ageCalculator If the player’s birthday places them with the age above their current grade, that player is eligible to play with either their current grade OR the grade above them.

Grade-to-age:

3rd grade: 9U

4th grade: 10U

5th grade: 11U

6th grade: 12U

7th grade: 13U

8th grade: 14U

For example, a 4th grader born on 04/15/2013 would be eligible to play 4th grade baseball or 5th grade (11U) baseball.

Weekend Tournament Teams

Southern Minny players interested in playing additional weekend tournaments will have the opportunity to be placed on a tournament team by completing a tryout. Tournament teams may have additional practices throughout the season. These tournament teams will be age based, not grade based. Consequently, depending on the player’s birthday, they may end up playing on a team with teammates that play in the Southern Minny league grade group above them. A tryout may not be held if the number of players interested in being on a tournament team at that age does not exceed a single team’s worth of players.

The age calculator referenced above can be used to determine which age of team the player would be eligible for.

The goal is to get each tournament team into 3 tournaments for each of the following ages: 12U and 13U. Tournament teams for 14U may be formed if there is interest and tournament availability. There are typically fewer tournaments available at the 14U age, so 1 weekend tournament is a more realistic expectation for these ages. The number of tournaments for each team may vary based on tournament availability and player interest. There will be a tryout with a fee for players interested in being evaluated for a tournament team. Tryout dates will be announced at a later time. There will be additional fees for players on the tournament team to cover tournament registration fees.

Formation of 6th, 7th, and 8th Grade Leagues

In years past, RYBA has not had enough players at the 8th grade level to support a Southern Minny 8th grade league. These players were put on to teams that played in the Zumbro Valley League (ZVL).

RYBA strongly prefers creating a Southern Minny league for our 8th grade players. In effort to form an 8th grade Southern Minny league in 2025, RYBA may form a 7th/8th grade league in addition to a 6th/7th grade league. Traditionally, RYBA has formed a 6th/7th grade league for our 6th and 7th grade players. Registration numbers at each grade dictate how leagues will be formed at these levels. For our 7th grade registrants, consider if you would prefer to play in a 6th/7th grade league or a 7th/8th grade league. Some 7th graders may play in a 6th/7th grade league while others play in a 7th/8th grade league if it supports creation of viable leagues for both age groups.

There are differences in field dimension between these leagues. A 6th/7th grade league would play on fields where bases are 75-80 feet apart and the pitching rubber is 50-52 feet from the point of home plate. A 7th/8th grade league would play on fields where bases are 90 feet apart and the pitching rubber is 60 feet and 6 inches from the point of home plate.

If there are not enough players to form a Southern Minny 8th grade or 7th/8th grade league, the 8th grade Southern Minny players will play in the ZVL. The ZVL starts play in June and goes through July. ZVL teams play in cities around southeast Minnesota.

Cancellation Fee

If you sign up and decide to not play there will be a $25 cancellation fee if canceling before March 1st. Canceling registration on March 1st or later will result in a $45 cancellation fee. Those interested in signup after registration has closed will be placed on a waitlist. As openings are available, players may be allowed to register on a case by case basis. Each late registration will be charged an additional $50 late registration fee.